In January of 2009 brilliant winter weather and a spontaneous impulse made me head down to Dessau-Roßlau to visit the Bauhaus School where I would finally see and experience in person what Walter Gropius and the members of the Bauhaus movement planned and built upon being forced out of Weimar. The result was this palace of light, worthy of being the new home for the Bauhaus doctrine. Visionary, brave, functional and timeless and simply beautiful are words which come to mind when strolling through these premises.

Hard to believe and astonishing to many, is the date of erection (1925 – 1926) of this architecture, art & design school complex and its nearby accompanying buildings. How can such modernity date back a hundred years yet still be so current? And why – with such excellence right in front their noses – do so many architects today fail to speak a clear and comforting language? Just a few of the questions which popped up while thinking about how the students in these classrooms only had to look out the window to find a perfect grid system.

The enormous impact the Bauhaus school in all its forms has to this day is undeniable and it’s probably safe to say that the Bauhaus shaped the modern world as we know it, despite the fact that it only existed for 14 years. A unique and new approach and successful interplay of taught disciplines as well as the careful selection of teachers made this possible. To learn more about the Bauhaus movement and the events taking place this year to honor it’s 100th anniversary, visit bauhaus100.com and bauhaus-dessau.de.